An Excellent Object Lesson!

 2012-06-15

 I observed a class in session today.  It was a Grade 4 French immersion class with about 14 students, eight of which were boys and six girls. All were white except for a student who appeared to be of middle eastern background. I was told that some students were away; some went on to a field trip while some already went on vacations with their families.

It was a lesson taught through storytelling in the library. Before the librarian started her story, she assigned some students with characters from the story.

“ The young lady in bright green, could you please say, in a tired voice, ah …sign….ah.  You are the tired wife.” The librarian told one student.

To another one, she said, “ I chose you because of your size. You are the miner.  Can you say, in a strong voice, with muscles and chest expanded,” A..HA…”  All the kids laughed.

To another student who was talking to her friend, she said politely,  “ Would you be the cat?  What does a cat sound like? “  The girl made a loud meowing sound.  More laughter from the students.

As the librarian started to tell the story, she asked the students to practise the different parts and make the noise and actions when she came to the different characters in her story.  She told her story about the miner with a lot of enthusiasm and gestures captivating the students’ attention and they responded with laughter and delight. Students were involved and engaged as she continued with her story and they  were allowed to make noise and actions which were associated with their part in the story.  Everyone obviously enjoyed the story.

A display in the library about the Queen

After the story telling, the librarian took out a poster with pictures of the queen  and the planned celebration events  of her 60 years reign in Britain. She drew students’ attention to the fact that the queen always carried a purse with her everywhere she went, even in the palace.

 “ The queen is rarely seen without a purse. What do you think are in the queen’s purse?”  She questioned the students.

 Enthusiastic answers rang out from the group. The librarian created an air of excitement and expectation from these Grade 4 students.  Slowly, she presented  a  small black satin purse with two straps to the kids and asked them to guess what they thought were in the queen’s purse.

One of the adults present was asked to come out and took out the items in the purse one by one and showed them to the students.

A beaded leash – “ For the queen’s dog. The queen has a favourite dog,  you know.” The librarian explained.

 Each item was pulled out from the purse:  a bottle of mouth wash,  a small silver crown, a bottle of hand sanitizer, a string of pearl,  a  car key, a plastic sword…. etc. 

 “ The queen uses the sword to knight people-,” the librarian explained. With the plastic sword in her hand,  she walked around to perform the knighting ceremony on some students.  Kids loved it!  They were mesmerized and listened to her story and explanation of what the queen did.

What a good way to teach a boring history lesson!   Kids love to get their hands on doing something rather than just sitting there listening to a 15 minute lecture on facts.  This group of Grade 4 students who might not be able to sit through a lesson about the Queen of England was interested and eager to learn about these facts associated with the items in the purse. A very smart object lesson indeed!

After the class they were given a treat of cakes and drinks by the librarian.

Everyone was sitting on the floor, behaving nicely and politely. Quiet and casual conversations occurred while the kids were eating, but in a very controlled and disciplined setting.  As the students were eating their cake, the librarian proceeded to talk about expressions about cakes.

“ Can you think of the expressions associated with cakes?” She asked.

“It’s a piece of cake!” someone yelled out.

“Let them eat cake!” An adult yelled out.  Many students did not know this expression. The librarian told them the story of Maria Antoinette  and how this expression came about.  Great learning opportunity for another history lesson even when the students were eating and having fun!

I really liked this lesson. I wished more teachers would use this approach to teach kids!

A very productive day for me as it has helped me to learn more about teaching and students in PEI. It’s not that different from schools in Toronto where educators also use similar hands-on approach to engage students.

I did blog yesterday but when I checked it today, I could not find it.  I have no idea where it went. I must remember to write my blog in word, save it and then post it to make sure that I would not lose my blog again.

R.T.
Charlottetown, PEI